Spinach ricotta cups

I missed you yesterday. Really...I did. I missed everything to do with civilization actually. We got hit with Winter Storm Draco, just as the weather people predicted, and he didn't take it easy on us because we are out of practice, that's for sure. Sidenote: when did we start naming blizzards? Anyway, I was stranded at home alone since Main Man and his guys plow quite a few businesses around town (for 27 hours straight yesterday and he left at 10 pm so didn't get sleep for 42 hours...no bueno). I am used to be alone during snowstorms, so that wasn't an issue. The issue was the fact that I didn't have power for 13 hours during said snowstorm. The heat was off, I couldn't watch tv, blog, do a p90x workout, cook my holiday food...nothin. I tell you what, the house is spic and span though! My kindle was dead so the only distraction I had was my cell phone, which got old after a bit, so cleaning things was my only means of keeping busy and warm. The power did get restored right at dark, when I was just starting to get worried about not having real candles in the house (I'm a Scentsy addict but those require electricity), and the heat not coming on again all night.

 

Main Man tried to get home to nap a couple times but he was actually snowed out while I was snowed in...even with his big old truck with a plow on it. He walked home from down the road around midnight last night and was asleep before he hit the bed. So glad he got some rest finally...I know people get anxious and annoyed at the street cleaning crews and the power companies when they're stranded but those people who worked with no sleep in the freezing cold the last couple days to restore my power and clear the roads for me to get out today are saints in my book! I sure wouldn't want that job!

 

After the week we've had, I'm ready for the long Christmas weekend, followed by the long New Years weekend, followed very closely by our honeymoon cruise in January...besides being petrified of flying even though I've done it a million times, I am over the moon excited to be looking at a full week of relaxation! It's been a busy month, with preparations for the holidays, and other events...like the WIDZ party I made these spinach ricotta cups for a couple weeks ago. I have to admit that I never actually got a chance to try one of them because they disappeared so quickly, but that's a good thing, right?! I received a lot of compliments on these, which is nice because they really didn't take much effort...see for yourself:

 

2 packages phyllo cups (you can get the phyllo dough and make cups yourself if you like, but this is way easier)

5-8 oz fresh spinach

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T butter

1 16 oz container low fat ricotta cheese

4 oz goat cheese

cracked pepper to taste

thyme to taste (sprinkled on top)

 

I had originally thought of just filling these with the cheeses, but decided to add a little to the pot for flava's sake. I performed my normal routine of wilting the fresh spinach with the butter and minced garlic in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, heat for 30 seconds, stir...done. Add that to a mixing bowl with the ricotta and goat cheese. Add cracked pepper and thyme and mix all that shizz to perfection.

 

I decided to put the mixture into a plastic baggie and cut a corner off in order to squirt it into the cups without getting them all messy using a spoon. It's a shortcut I think you'll come to appreciate if you're anything like me...and by anything like me, I mean sloppy. Things tend to come out perdier this way. Anywho...squirt the filling into the cups, sprinkle with thyme for a garnish and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Yum-diddly-umptious.  

 

Well, folks...it looks as though this is the last you'll hear from me until after the holiday...so I hope you all have wonderful celebrations with fantabulous food and unforgettable family time! I will be back late next week to hit you with some of the holiday treats I've made for the festivities...like the batch of Leslie's homemade caramels that are now going to be a yearly tradition. No one is counting how many of those I took down yesterday while being snowed in with the whole pan...

BLT pasta

MEEEEEEEEEEP!!! MEEEEEEEEEEP!!! Blizzard warning in your county!! MEEEEEEEP!!! MEEEEEEEEEP!!!

 

That's what I woke up to at 4 am this morning blaring from my phone while it vibrated so hard it almost bounced off the nightstand. Main Man's phone didn't have sound but it was jumping around vibrating as well. Jeez Louise, Verizon...I could see if it's a tornado coming our way where we need to take action immediately, but what exactly is the advice for a blizzard? Stay inside? Got that covered at 4 am...thanks. Besides the fact that this warning was a good 12 hours before the snow was even supposed to think about starting to fall on us. Better to be safe than sorry, I suppose. I am, by nature, bad at waking up anyway. I have a very serene, gradual volume increasing, spa-like alarm for my normal wake ups, so when this thing hit, I thought the Mayans were right about the end of the world (give or take a couple days in calculations). I've never sat up so fast...

 

Now that my heart is beating at its normal pace again (it took a while to revert back to normal palpitations), I am eagerly awaiting this blizzard because it means we get a white Christmas! Yes, I'm one of those annoying people wishing for snow. Don't worry, I only wish for it the first snow of the year and then it loses it's luster when it gets all dirty and ugly and you actually have to drive in it and continue on with life. But the first snow is always magical, and it just makes it feel more Christmas-y to have a white backdrop when peering out the windows.

 

Anyway, I'm being warned by Main Man that I may not be able to get out of the house tomorrow since our county road drifts so badly and the winds are expected to be very high tonight after the snow piles on us. This meal was a throw-together with ingredients I had laying around one night that I didn't feel like going to the store. Instead of heading to the store to stock up on food for the impending storm, I plan on making this pasta again with the staples I keep in the house. I always have these ingredients in my fridge, they're my favorites because you can throw them into so many different things. This time they turned into a pasta but they could've been a beefed up fresh spinach salad by subtracting the pasta, a quinoa casserole by subbing quinoa for pasta, a breakfast burrito filling or just an omelet by adding eggs, the list goes on and on...

 

Here's what you need:

 

1 box short pasta (I used these mini shells that are just adorbs, don't barf on me for saying adorbs please)

1 container cherubs or cherry tomatoes

1 bag fresh spinach

6 slices bacon, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces (you probably don't need that much but I have a bacon thief around the house so I always cook an extra slice or two to avoid being short on my recipe)

8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, grated

2 T olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced (you can do less, but I love me some garlic, I never have to worry about vamps)

cracked pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste (I like to taste a lot)

 

Boil the noodles as you normally would, drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat, and add your minced garlic to it, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes until aromatic. Add your tomatoes or cherubs and spinach, saute until wilted. Add noodles, bacon, and pasta and stir to combine. Add the mozzarella cheese and mix while melting. Add cracked pepper and red pepper to taste, and serve that stuff up with some garlic bread to your snowed in peeps....that's it!

 

I plan to add a cup of greek yogurt mixed in with the shredded mozzarella, just to give it a little more creaminess, but other than that, this meal was a score for just being made with ingredients I have on hand at all times. Can't beat that with a stick. Or a blizzard. Happy snowstorm, Iowans!

 

Bloggers day of silence for Sandy Hook

Ebates

Just a little heads up...from me to you. I am a coupon freak. I mean, I'm not one of those crazy couponers who have a binder of 30 cents off clippings who take an hour to check out of the grocery store and stockpile food and toiletries in their homes...but I do love me a good deal just as much as the next girl. Main Man used to be a little embarrassed about using Groupons to go out to eat, or printouts from Restaurant.com, or whatever my latest deal is. But if I can save a $20 bill going out to eat, I'm gonna do it!

My friend (and maid of honor), Cynthia is the queen of deals, reading fine print, and all things to do with savings...and is very good at passing along deals to me when she thinks I may be interested. She recently took a couponing course which gave tips for savings in different shopping scenarios, and she passed this one along to me knowing that I do ALL my shopping online...literally, all of it. I hate stores, people! I get all sweaty and anxious even thinking about going to a mall this time of year...ew. Anyway, the website she directed me to is Ebates, where you make an account and then proceed to your favorite stores websites (there's tons of them, I haven't looked for one that they don't have yet) and shop like you normally would. Ebates generates a ticket when you click to your store's normal website and tracks if you place an order with them or not. If you do place an order, each store offers a different moneyback percentage. My favorite store lately is JCrew and they offer 6% cashback on any purchases. So I just shop for what I want, click through my purchasing, and I get 6% cashback on things I was going to purchase anyway!! Ebates saves your money up from the various websites you shop at after the purchases are confirmed, and loads cash onto your account to send you out a check when it reaches a certain limit. Right now I have $20 waiting for me as well as a $10 Target gift card for making my first purchase after signing up for Ebates. I mean, you're not gonna get rich doing it, but why wouldn't I take a little extra cash back on purchases I was going to make anyway??

Soooooo, in case any of you are interested...go ahead and click HERE to get signed up and registered to shop like you normally would! Just make sure you go to Ebates first, and then continue onto your normal websites you shop at....AND today they are offering free shipping on most of the stores as well! Ebates does not effect any sales or promotions the stores are putting on themselves either...so if you have any Christmas shopping to get done before you can't get things shipped anymore, go ahead and set yourself up to get a little check with extra cash back in January...I know I'm excited to get mine! Happy holidays, everyone!

*I am in no way affiliated with Ebates, this message contains my own words and opinions.

Marinated pork loin

Main Man actually executed this meal so I will give him full credit, and credit is needed to be given to someone for this masterpiece!  I have started buying small pork loins to marinate and throw on the grill since they are fairly cheap and very easy to throw together for dinner. Plus, Main Man gets all excited when he knows we're having a big hung of meat for dinner...must be a guy thing. This one was a throw together marinade of things I had in the house...I've gotten pretty good at discovering what will penetrate the meat well after all my marinations this summer, if I do say so myself, (and I do). No messing around Monday....let's get to it!

 

white balsamic vinegar (sweeter and less bitter than normal balsamic)

soy sauce

olive oil

lime juice

garlic powder

cracked pepper

cayenne pepper (optional, but we like a little kick in the panties)

 

I didn't really measure the ingredients, just threw them together and put a finger in there to taste after I mixed it up...that's the best way to cook, in my opinion! :) I put the loin in a large plastic baggie and dumped the mixture onto it to marinate overnight. When I got home from visiting the hospital the next night, Main Man had dinner on the table ready to be served. He actually took our meat syringe and injected the loin with the excess marinade before grilling, which I think was an excellant idea that really enhanced the flavor of the meat.

 

ALWAYS, always, always let your meat rest before slicing into it after grilling or you will lost all your juice, and that's no way to ruin a hunk of beatiful meat! This was a perfect Friday night in meal for the hubs and I...those pork loins in our freezer better be worried about their fate :)

 

Last long week before the holiday, I hope everyone has their shopping done, their menus planned, and Im (not so secretly) hoping for some snow to grace our presence for a traditional white Christmas...it just doesn't feel right this year with the warm weather we've had!  Happy Monday, all!

 

Linguine in clam sauce

Here it is, folks! There's been a little controversy around the Casa Del Stensland about what is the best meal we've had lately. Main Man's vote was this Brussel sprouts and crab mac and cheese, but my vote counts more (the lady of the house's always does) and I double vote for this linguine in clam sauce from Iowa Girl Eats. We don't have to go over my obsession with her again...we all know it's a little ridonkulous...but man this girl makes my mouth water on a daily basis!  I used to think my favorite recipe from her blog was the caprese lasagna, with the skinny meatball subs coming in at a close second. But ah do ba-leev I have found zee best recipe on her blog eva!

 

I've never actually had linguine in clam sauce so I have no comparison to give you, not sure if this is a traditional recipe or a little different from the standard you would get in a restaurant...I can tell you I will be trying this sometime if I ever see it on the menu at an Italian place. I really don't quite get how you can get such flavor with so few ingredients, and I predicted it was going to be pretty dry (I'm a saucy girl) but it really wasn't at all! I devoured my whole plate...if there had been leftovers I would have had more. Probably a good thing there weren't any. I did go buy the ingredients to have on hand to make this two more times...I liked it so much I wanted to be able to make it anytime the craving hit me. The best part is, the ingredients can be kept on hand and pulled out at any time to make a phenomenal dinner at the drop of a hat. I can't wait to impress someone with this meal...."Oh yeah, I suppose I could throw something together for dinner tonight if you want to come over"...and then BOOM, you get hit in the face with this stuff! I'm super excited just thinking about it :)

 

8 oz dried linguine

1 T olive oil

1 large shallot (I subbed 3 green onions, didn't have shallots on hand)

3-6.5 ounce cans clams, drained, with 3/4 cup juice reserved

juice of 1 lemon (I used 1 T of lemon juice I had in the fridge)

1 t red pepper flakes (or to taste, you know I like my red pepper so I used more)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (I added this...can't have Italian without garlic)

 

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and shallot (or green onion) and saute until very soft and tender, about 5 minutes. Add clams and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add reserved clam jice, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.

 

Toss pasta in the skillet with the sauce. adjusting red pepper flakes to taste. The recipe says to divide among 4 plates and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. I divided it into two servings and wouldn't have wanted any less of a portion. This was the perfect amount for two people...and that's seriously hard to do, people. I'm always trying to make dinners that won't result in tons of leftovers and it rarely works out...so that was a cherry on top (except I could've nibbled on that stuff all night after dinner, it was so good).

I served with garlic bread and cleaned my plate...might've licked it clean...can't remember, don't care. That's not what's important. What's important is that you get yourself these ingredients and throw a restaurant quality dinner together for yourself lickity split (Main man even commented "It's done already" when I started plating). I'll admit that it doesn't look like much, so don't be taken aback at the flavor punch that is going to hit your tongue when you devour this...I warned you. Fair and square.

I'm glad this meal turned out so well as it was prepared in celebration of our one month anniversary of being married. Don't worry, we're not going to be one of those ridiculous couples who celebrate each and every month, but I saved the cakeballs from the top of the wedding cake and froze them for us to have a special night with each other after all the hubbub from the wedding was over. Dessert is served! Red wine for her, milk for him :) 

Have a great Friday, all! It's all downhill to the weekend...

Green bean casserole

Aunt Chris always makes the green bean casserole....ALWAYS. Which means although it is a standard dish at holiday gatherings, I have never once had to learn how to make it or what all goes in it. Well, this year Aunt Chris couldn't make it to Thanksgiving, and we all know you can't do Thanksgiving without green bean casserole...so I wung it. Winged it? Wang it? You know what I mean...

 

I didn't want to make another store run so I tried to work with what I had at home. I really had basically everything I needed to make a small batch already on hand, I was relieved to discover. I still have a freezer full of garden green beans from this summer, and instead of French's onion pieces that everyone always uses, I used dehydrated onions Mama K gave me a bag of to use for cooking a while back. I was a little nervous at how this was all going to turn out, but what's the worst that could happen? I knew I wouldn't give anybody food poisoning, so if worse came to worse, the dish would just be thrown away (or given to our resident garbage disposal, Sammy).

 

Wellllll, I'm not sure if people were nervous because they didn't know what it was or if their plates were already full since this was positioned at the end of the line, but we had quite a bit of this left. I did try it though, and I thought it was mighty good, especially for a throw-together.  I sure wouldn't replace the standard Aunt Chris green bean casserole with this but I did find some modifications that I would make to the tried and true recipe. I loved the addition of cheese to the dish, and really liked the fresh green beans so they weren't so mushy...obviously I love the mushier style too but it was nice to feel like I was eating real veggies with some consistency.

 

Here goes:

 

3 cups fresh green beans

1 cup shredded cheese

1 cup skim milk

1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

2 t worcestershire sauce

1.5 cups dehydrated onions

cracked pepper to taste

 

I just added everything to a big mixing bowl, stirred it up, and poured it into a baking dish to be cooked at 400 degrees for an hour, while covered. I had a nifty glass lid for my new baking dish that has its own cork bottom to keep warmth in after cooking...loving all my new dishes from the wedding!

 

I sprinkled some extra dehydrated onions on top, but I would skip that step next time because the good onions were the ones that were rehydrated by the liquid in the mixture, the ones on top seemed to burn. All in all, the flavor was good though, and that's what's really important though....right? Main Man couldn't stop making fun of me that no one seemed to want my green bean casserole and even told me he heard people talking about it saying it was horrible, but I found out later he was just messing with me. We're nice to each other like that...

Point is...you never know until you try. I am glad to have experimented with the normal recipe and found some great modifications to add to the mix to put my own little tweak on green bean casserole. Next time you're in a pinch...throw something together. You may discover the best recipe you've ever stumbled upon...by accident!

Happy almost Friday, people! Be sure to check in tomorrow....we are officially DONE with Thanksgiving recipes and moving on to my absolute favorite recipe we've tried recently! It's in the rotation permanently...you'll love it!